Deadmeat Saga

Intermission – Grow Strong, My Child.

The Kerus Dynasty.

It is an ancient dynasty dating to ancient times, said to house the bloodline of ancient humans, the Tyrant Bloodline, whose name is known to few.

Once upon a time, it ruled the Griqix mega-continent, one of the two continents of this world, bringing human supremacy against monsters and demi-human oppressors. But now, after countless generations, the bloodline is on the decline.

The bloodline is so diluted that no child naturally awakens anymore, requiring artificial methods to awaken their potential, and even that is incomplete, and some don't even inherit that! Unlike ancient times, where natural treasures and powerful monsters were abundant, enabling the awakening and strengthening of the bloodline, they are now too scarce, barely found in certain dungeons and hazard zones. Resources get focused on the imperial family, but even that isn't enough, causing intense internal strife over resources.

If that wasn't enough, in the last 30 years, mysterious deaths have started happening in the family, killing all of the talented youths born in the family. At first, they were not alarmed, but as the bodies kept piling up, they realized that a powerful force was targeting them. They desperately searched for the killers and indeed found and killed some, but the deaths continued.

As an act of survival to continue the bloodline lineage, the imperial family sent pregnant concubines to distant lands, giving birth to heirs in places where the mysterious killers couldn't reach. They hoped that by sending seedlings to various lands, several might sprout, continuing the lineage. Unfortunately, none of them awakened.

.

.

.

Inside a palace, in the imperial mausoleum.

A muscular and fierce-looking middle-aged man in imperial robes, easily 2.2m tall, looked at various names carved into stone, sadness in his eyes as he knelt to the dead in prayer.

"Brothers, sisters, cousins... I once fought you over resources, the favor of the elders, and the throne. I once saw you as rivals. I now realize how privileged we were to have the leisure of internal strife. Now, you all lay dead. All of our promising children are buried here, killed by an unseen hand. Of the imperial family, only a handful now has the Tyrant Bloodline awakened, all at a low level, and I only awakened half of it, and they call me a prodigy. None of the hundreds of seeds spread have sprouted. Ancestors, please guide me. Give me a miracle! Let the embers of the family rekindle once more, or our ancient bloodline will end at my hands!" The man prayed.

Just then, perhaps the ancestors answering him, he felt the necklace on his neck heating up.

"Eh?" The man uttered in disbelief as he looked downward.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly hid it as he felt the necklace on his chest, rekindling his lost hope.

"Ah... One of them awakened. My prayers were answered." The man trembled slightly, a tear flowing down his cheek.

The man wanted to immediately send a dragon knight to his unknown child and bring him back, funneling all their resources to him and grooming the next emperor. But he knew what fate would await the child if he did so prematurely.

"If I bring him now, he will die. I must wait for him to come himself. Otherwise, he would be too weak and die like the rest. Grow strong, my child. When you decide you are strong enough, make your pilgrimage here and receive your birthright."